Bad Luck and Trouble

At the ATM machine the ex Army investigator discovers someone’s deposited money into his account. Naturally, he proceeds to decode the numbers in the amount of the deposit to discover the message meant for him. From the explosive opening scene the story lives up to Johnny Winter’s song, “…When my bad luck quit me, man my trouble just began” yet you’ll want to stay for the wild ride. As Maxine Clarke explains, (the main character) “Jack Reacher is the fiction twin of TV's Jack Bauer.” Lee Child’s smart, tightly-plotted mystery is a gripping reminder of the power of lean, taut, language to grab and hold attention. Indulge yourself. Read it as a primer to help you fight the bull in anything you write next.